The hope of a morel gold rush has attracted a small army of mushroom pickers to the site of last years Bobtail Lake wildfire.
Morel mushrooms often sprout in the Spring the year after a forest fire. The highly sought after fungus can usually fetch high prices, exported to high end restaurants in Europe.
But the crowds drawn by the easy access to the Bobtail Lake wildfire site about 50km south east of Prince George may be disappointed.
President of Ponderosa Mushrooms Joe Salvo has a buyer at the scene. But says there are many factors working against morel mushroom production there. Firstmost, the blaze sparked on May 8th 2015; very early in the fire season.
“There was enough time in the summer and fall for the grass and fireweed to get a head start on it. So if you went out there right now, lots of it don’t even look like a fire anymore, it’s already covered in fireweed and grasses. The morels unfortunately cannot complete.”
He added the area is quite swampy which isn’t great for morels, and that large swaths of the fire site had been previously logged.
To make matters worse, the price of morel mushrooms has fallen significantly.
“This particular year, what’s really driving the price down is all the fire that burnt in the Lower 48; Washington, Idaho, Montana and Oregon had a massive fire season.”
He says he isn’t totally giving up on the Bobtail Lake site yet, but isn’t optimistic there will be a fungus bonanza anytime soon.
“Particularly at the prices we are at, we are already down to 5-6 dollars a pound out there… and they will not be going up, I can guarantee that.”
Morel mushrooms were going for 7-8 dollars a pound last year.
He says there are several other wildfire sites in the region that may not be as easy to access, but will provide better yields.
“It’s like anything, if people work hard enough at it and are dedicated enough to it and commit the hours that are required to get the job done there’s definitely still money to be made even at a 5-6 dollar price.”
Something going on in the Prince George area you think people should know about?
Send us a news tip by emailing [email protected].
